Automatic telephone central-station apparatus.



A. E. STEVENS.

AUTOMATIC TELEPHQNE CENTRAL STATION APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED APR. 28. 1911.

1,265,398. Patented May 7,1918.

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AUTOMATIC TELEPHONE CENTRAL STATION APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 28. m1.

1,265,398. Patented May 7,1918.

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ALTON E. STEVENS, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.

AUTOMATIC TELEI'HONE CENTRAL-STATION APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Yatent.

Patented May 7, 1918.

Application filed April 28, 1917. Serial No. 165,126.

To all whom it mm concern:

Be it known t at I, ALTON E. Srnvnns, a citizen of the United States, residing at Providence, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Automatic Telephone Central-Station Apparatus, of which the following is a specification, reference being bad therein to the accompanying drawing.

My invention relates to switching apparatus employed at the central station of an automatic telephone system; and it resides in features, and various combinations thereof, which may be cheaply and quickly made, and assembled, and are so designed and arranged, as to allow faulty or broken parts to be easily removed, and perfect ones substituted.

My invention may be said to reside particularly in demountable selector-racks, and terminals, and demountable selectors, used in such automatic telephone systems.

Some of the purposes of my invention may be said to be First: to so design the combination of a selector-rack and terminal-board, that the as a whole and individual unit, may be rea ily installed in, or removed from, the central station switch board.

Second: to combine the selector-rack with the line terminal-board, so as to obtain the greatest economy in switch board wiring.

Third: to so arrange the selector-rack, banks, and bank terminals, that a bare wire conductor can be used to multiple the terminals together.

Fourth: to so design the selector-rack, and selector, as to facilitate the installation, or interchange of selectors.

Fifth: to provide a simple way of securing the bank contact points in the contact bank.

In the drawings illustrating the principle of my invention, and the best way now known to me, of embodying the same in operative structure, Figure 1 is a front view of a selector-rack showing one selector in position;

Fig. 2 is a reduced elevation showing in detail, a number of selector rack jacks about to engage switchboard jacks connected by multiple cables;

Fig. 3 is a rear view of the selector-rack and connections;

Fig. 4 shows multiple cables and switchboard jacks to receive the jacks of a selecat top and bottom, by a tor rack; only one row being shown to avoid confusion;

Fig. 5 is a plan board jacks;

Fig. 6 shows in detail selector rack ack engaging switchboard jack;

Fig. 7 is a top view of a selector 1n position in the selector-rack;

Fig. 8 is a detailed cross section, showing the selector brushes engaging a contact of a selector-rack Fig. 9 is a bottom view of the selector with a section of a selector rack;

Fig. 10 is a diagrammatic view of wiring and apparatus employed by a calling and a called station making use of my invention.

The selector-rack consists of a metallic 1, bound together horizontal bar 2. Arranged one above another, and secured to cars 3, Figs. 3 and 7, fixed in the vertical members 1 of the frame, at regular intervals, are segments 4 of insulating material, as fiber. Radially disposed in these segments, are a series of two holes 5, Figs. 7 and 8, near the front and rear edges of the segment 4. Up through each pair of holes is passed a staple-shaped metal strip to form a bank terminal 6, of such length that when the vertical end portions of the staple are bent down outwardly and backwardly, the points of the strip extend beyond the front and rear edges of each segment; the respective strips and points being in the same vertical radial planes of the segments. Attached to each vertical series of rear points. as by solder, is a vertical bank wire, 7, Figs. 3 and 7, corresponding to its station of the system. So much of each of these bank wires as is below the lowest segment, is insulated, as at 8, Figs. 1 and 3, so that all of such of two rows of switchframe of two angle irons parts of the bank wires, may converge and" e gathered together, and cmnected to plugs 9 of the usual form, in the plug strip 10 of the frame. The points of the strips 6 projecting forwardly beyond the edge of the segment, form contact points of the contact bank terminals, for the pivoted brush 12, Fig. 7, of a selector mechanism, later to be generally described. This method of constructing the segment and its contact strips,

is of great simplicity and utility;

the bank terminals 6 being part of the segment 4, are

firnlily and eadily attached in the selectorrac Fixed, as by screws 13, to the side 1. of

the frame, is a fiat terminal-board 14, Fi s. 1, 3 and 7, of insulating material, having or each selector, and horizontally disposed upon the front of the frame, and in the card, means whereby the selector, as C, a unit, may be removably secured to the frame, and terminahboard 14, both mechanically and electrically.

These comprise horizontal pairs of selector supporting posts 15, Fig. 7 extending out from the face of the frame; spring jacks 16, Figs. 1, 7, and 10, to receive and contact with the plugs 17 on the selector; and binding posts 18, 19 and 20, on the terminalboard 14, to receive the necessary line, signaling and common wires 21. 22 and 23, Fig. 10, for the system. From the back of these binding posts 18 and 19, suitable leads 24 and 25, Figs. 3, 10 are led to the proper jack 16 and 27; while from the vertical bank wire 7 of one of the stations on the sclector-rack, leads the home wire to the jack 26. The jack 28 for each selector is connected to a wire 35 in the busy circuit, and has its individual plug in the plug strip 10, Fig. 3. in the selector rack frame. Binding-posts 30 and 31 are mounted at the bottom of the terminal-board 14, Fig. 1, to receive battery current from a suitable source; one of which binding-posts. as 30, is connected with a common wire to the jack 29 of each selector: and the other post. as 31, being connected to a common wire Fig. 3, mounted on the rear of the terminalboard 14.

The plugs 9 of the selector-rack, when the latter is to be installed in a switchboard. are first caused to engage a corresponding group of switchboard jacks 41. Figs, 2, 4, 5, 6 and 10. made integral with the swi rhhoard. When two or more selcctorracks are required, there are as many groups of switchboard jacks as there are selector-racks. as for example see Fig. 2: the jacks being multipled together by suitable cables 42. in a well-known manner.

It will now be obvious that in case of trouble or breakage, a selector-rack and terminal board, entire. may readily be removed from the switchboard. and a new unit carrying a like but operative set of electrical connections. can be quickly substituted, thereby greatly hastening the making of repairs required.

Mounted on the pins 15, projecting from the face of the frame, are the necessary number of selectors, one selector, as is Well known. being required for each telephone station. One is illustrated in the drawings, and only so much of it, as will show its demountability, as a unit, from the rack and board, will be described; it being understood that any selector of suitable construction, may be used in the system.

Of the selector, itself. there is a frame 50, having for manual convenience, a handle 51 at the front, integral therewith. On each side is a cylindrical member 52 pierced with a hole and adapted to slide over the pair of pins 15, Fig. 1, on the selector-rack, Mounted on the pivot 53, Fig. 7, is the selector brush 12 comprising two metallic sprin members, adapted to pass, one above, and the other below, and contact With, the contact. bank terminals, 6, as shown in Fi s.

7 and 8. The remainin elements of t e.

selector, such as its selector magnet 54 and armature 55; its holding magnet 56 and armature 57; its lockout magnet 58 and armature 59; and the various springs for controlling the numerous circuits, are all diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 10, and fully explained and claimed in application, Serial No. 72428, for automatic telephone system filed by me January 17, 1916. As the selector mechanism does not itself constitute a feature of my invention, it is felt that a further description of its construction and operation is not required.

Likewise, as the manufacture, and taking down of the selecting mechanism, at the central station, involve only the selector-rack A, tcrminal-boartil 14, and demountable selector C; the operative autosetting up matic telephone system embracing them,

constitutes their environment, and is shown in said diagrammatic view, Fig. 10, only to explain the relations of the parts of my invention to an operative system, a complete disclosure of which will be application No. 72428,

The only necessary electrical connections that must be sevcrable. between each selector and the rest of the system, are the plug 17 and jack 16 in the line 61 and jack 26 in the home wire 40 of the telephone station; the plug 63 and jack 27 in the selecting circuit 22; the plug 65 and jack in the busy circuit 35; and the plug 67 and jack 29 in the of which are clearly and diagrammatically indicated in Fig. 10 of the drawing.

It will now be plain that one or more selectors may be mounted in the positions provided upon by pushing the selector frame in, upon the pins, as far as it will go, all of the electrical connections required will lie made; and that by drawing it elf the pins, all connections will be severed; also that each selector-rack and terminal-board may as a whole be mounted in or removed from a switchboard, if they are so manipulated that the plugs in the selector-rack are moved to engage or disengage their multiple jacks in the switchboard.

Further, it will be obvious that the combination of the selector-rack and terminal board provides a construction whereby the amount of wiring in the central station up found in my said 100 circuit 21; the plug 5 battery circuit 23; all 10 the selector-rack, and that 115 paratus is reduced to a minimum; and the positioning of the banks and the arrangement of the back contact points of the bank terminals are such that they require a minimum amount of labor in wiring.

The patentable features, disclosed in diagrammatic drawin Fi .10, but not claimed herein, are fully escri ed and claimed in m said pending application for automatic te ephone system, Serial No. 72428, filed January 17, 1916 and in my application for automatic telephone sub-station mechangsnri Serial No. 163590, filed April 21, 1 1

Desiring to protect my invention in the broadest manner legally possible,

\Vhat I claim is:

1. A vertical rack; horizontal contact banks of line terminals, one above another, the contact points being multipled together with bare vertical wire conductors; pins perpendicular to the face of the rack; one or more selector frames with holes therein to allow a selector to be removably mounted upon said pins; the free end portions of said contact bank terminals being engageable by the selecting brush of the selector.

2. A vertical rack; horizontal contact banks of line terminals, one above another, the contact points being multi led together with bare vertical wire con uctors; pins perpendicular to the face of the rack; one or more selector frames with holes therein to allow a selector to be rcmovably mounted upon said pins; the free end portions of said contact bank terminals being engageable by the selecting brush of the selector; jacks secured to said rack, whereby the selector circuits become connected or disconnected, when the selector is mounted on, or demountcd from, the selector rack.

3. A vertical rack; horizontal contact banks of line terminals, one above another, the contact points being multipled together by bare wire vertical conductors; a terminal board secured to the rack and having terminals therein horizontally adjacent to each contact bank of line terminals.

4. A vertical rack; horizontal contact banks of line terminals, one above another, the contact banks being multipled together by bare wire vertical conductors; ins perpendicular to the face of the met; a terminal board secured to the rack, and havin terminals and jacks therein horizontally a jacent to each contact bank of line terminals; one or more selector frames with holes thereiluand with jacks, whereby each selector frame may be removably mounted upon said pins, and the selector circuits may become connected, or disconnected, when the selector is mounted on, or demounted from the selector rack.

5. A vertical rack; horizontal contact banks of line terminals, one above another; the contact points being multipled together by bare wire vertical multiple conductors; a. multiple jack mounted upon said rack; insulated jack plugs mounted therein; each jack plug being connected to its individual vertical multiple conductor.

6. A vertical rack; horizontal contact banks of line terminals, one above another; the contact points being multipled together by bare wire vertical multiple conductors; a multiple jack mounted upon said rack; insulated jack plugs mounted therein; each jack plug bein connected to its individual vertical multip e conductor; a switch board; multiple jacks mounted therein; insulated spring clips in each of said jacks to receive the insulated male plugs in the selector rack; and a multiple cable whereby the corresponding points in the switchboard jacks are multipled together.

In testimony whereof I hereunto ailix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ALTON E. STEVENS.

YVitnesses:

CHAnLns F. Rrclunnsox, A. I. CRAWFORD. 

